STIGhubSTIGhub
STIGsRMF ControlsCompare

STIGhub

A free tool to search and browse the entire DISA STIG library. Saves up to 75% in security compliance research time.

Navigation

  • Browse STIGs
  • Search
  • RMF Controls
  • Compare Versions

Resources

  • About
  • Release Notes
  • VPAT
  • DISA STIG Library
STIGs updated 1 hour ago
Powered by Pylon
© 2026 Beacon Cloud Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.
← Back to Apple macOS 14 (Sonoma) Security Technical Implementation Guide

V-259438

CAT I (High)

The macOS system must limit SSHD to FIPS-compliant connections.

Rule ID

SV-259438r958408_rule

STIG

Apple macOS 14 (Sonoma) Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V2R3

CCIs

CCI-000068

Discussion

If SSHD is enabled then it must be configured to limit the Ciphers, HostbasedAcceptedAlgorithms, HostKeyAlgorithms, KexAlgorithms, MACs, PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms, CASignatureAlgorithms to algorithms that are FIPS 140 validated. FIPS 140-2 is the current standard for validating that mechanisms used to access cryptographic modules utilize authentication that meet federal requirements. Operating systems utilizing encryption must use FIPS validated mechanisms for authenticating to cryptographic modules. Note: For more information on FIPS compliance with the version of SSHD included in the macOS, the manual page apple_ssh_and_fips has additional information. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000033-GPOS-00014,SRG-OS-000120-GPOS-00061,SRG-OS-000250-GPOS-00093,SRG-OS-000393-GPOS-00173,SRG-OS-000394-GPOS-00174,SRG-OS-000396-GPOS-00176,SRG-OS-000424-GPOS-00188,SRG-OS-000478-GPOS-00223

Check Content

Verify the macOS system is configured to limit SSHD to FIPS-compliant connections with the following command:<br /><br />fips_sshd_config=("Ciphers aes128-gcm@openssh.com" "HostbasedAcceptedAlgorithms ecdsa-sha2-nistp256,ecdsa-sha2-nistp256-cert-v01@openssh.com" "HostKeyAlgorithms ecdsa-sha2-nistp256,ecdsa-sha2-nistp256-cert-v01@openssh.com" "KexAlgorithms ecdh-sha2-nistp256" "MACs hmac-sha2-256" "PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms ecdsa-sha2-nistp256,ecdsa-sha2-nistp256-cert-v01@openssh.com" "CASignatureAlgorithms ecdsa-sha2-nistp256")<br />total=0<br />for config in $fips_sshd_config; do<br />  total=$(expr $(/usr/sbin/sshd -G | /usr/bin/grep -i -c "$config") + $total)<br />done<br /><br />echo $total<br /><br />If the result is not "7", this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure the macOS system to limit SSHD to FIPS-compliant connections with the following command:<br /><br />fips_sshd_config="Ciphers aes128-gcm@openssh.com<br />HostbasedAcceptedAlgorithms ecdsa-sha2-nistp256,ecdsa-sha2-nistp256-cert-v01@openssh.com<br />HostKeyAlgorithms ecdsa-sha2-nistp256,ecdsa-sha2-nistp256-cert-v01@openssh.com<br />KexAlgorithms ecdh-sha2-nistp256<br />MACs hmac-sha2-256<br />PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms ecdsa-sha2-nistp256,ecdsa-sha2-nistp256-cert-v01@openssh.com<br />CASignatureAlgorithms ecdsa-sha2-nistp256"<br />/bin/echo "${fips_sshd_config}" > /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/fips_sshd_config